Luxury Fitness: Workout Like the 1%

There are plenty of people in Hollywood who do it. Quite a few people tucked away among Manhattan’s skyline too. Miami? Check. Vegas? Yup. Pretty much anywhere the wealthy live and play is where you can find it.

I’m talking about a smattering of the rich and/or famous who have plenty of money and care about how they look. The term is “luxury fitness” and it’s a tiny subset of the over-all billion dollar fitness industry. And if you’re part of it, you’re making a lot of money.

$250 an hour personal training sessions … tricked out home gyms bigger than some people’s whole house … massage services … indoor pools … and a staff that travels with you so you don’t miss your workout. Yes, you can have it all.

Madonna: The hard-bodied singer travels with a trainer and has for years; you might recall the father of her oldest daughter started off doing laps with her around Central Park. Now Madonna and her trainer have co-developed their own DVD, Addicted to Sweat, so her fans can grab a piece of the Material Girl’s luxury fitness routine.

Kim Kardashian: The reality star would have disappeared from the tabloids without her famous derriere. She knows this and treats her booty with the respect it deserves. Kardashian works with a great Hollywood trainer, Gunnar Peterson, and yes, you can grab a piece of her, um, workout by purchasing her DVD, Fit in Your Jeans By Friday. I’m a bit skeptical of that claim.

Gwyneth Paltrow: Getting customized routines delivered right to your hotel room sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? Just have your trainer film themselves then download it to your laptop. What better way is there to squeeze in a workout between galas and red carpets? Paltrow and her trainer, Tracy Anderson, have become so close they are now business partners and are currently pushing “The Pregnancy Project,” a new training system for Moms. One of the devotees is new mom Molly Sims. You can sample Tracy Anderson’s workout style through her own line of DVDs as well.

Hugh Jackman: Don’t worry, guys, I didn’t forget you. It just seems that you’re not as into the “fluff” as the girls are. You want weights, you want to him ‘em hard, and you want that V cut now, dammit! Jackman’s trainer, Don Smith, alternates four weeks of heavy weight training for bulking up with a few weeks of lighter trainer to “maximize strength gains.”

Miley Cyrus: She is a Pilates Queen! The teen star is addicted to her Reformer and spends a LOT of time at a studio in Hollywood getting ready for her upcoming wedding and her other public appearances. She’s such a regular that the paparazzi just show up a few minutes before her class and snap a few pics of her always svelte body. We’re wondering if maybe she’s not a 1%-er yet since she doesn’t have a home studio and a Pilates instructor traveling with her. Even in the luxury fitness category, there are levels for how much people spend.

How do you grab a piece of your own luxury fitness workout? Here’s a little insider secret: the best thing that can ever happen to a trainer is to pick up a celebrity client. You might notice a whole bunch of them go into business together, and you know why? It’s beneficial to both. The celebrity trainer can start charging $250 an hour instead of the usual $75, and a DVD with a celebrity on the cover is sure to sell boatloads!

Here’s another thing I noticed … most of the folks shelling out the big bucks are in their 40s; Madge is 54! These middle-age celebs need to work a little harder to maintain those svelte physiques. It is no small feat that Madonna has looked so amazing for so long; she clearly prioritizes it, which makes her a great role model.

Luxury Fitness At Home

Grab a couple of celebrity DVDs or spring for a personal trainer to come to your house every few weeks. You’ll get fresh routines delivered by a pro and you’ll keep challenging your body. Try commandeering that spare room you never use and add a treadmill and some free weights. You can spend anywhere between $50 to $10,000 for your own luxury home gym.

If you were part of the 1%, how would you change your fitness routine? I know for me I’d have a personal indoor heated pool with jacuzzi and a home Pilates studio with a nice selection of free weights and cardio machines. Also throw in a heavy bag for boxing and a massage room. Yep, that’s how I’d roll …

Cheers,

Lisa

About Lisa Johnson

Lisa Johnson here. I've been a personal trainer since 1997, a Pilates instructor since 1998 and the owner of Modern Pilates since 1999. I'm hoping to give you some good ideas to get or stay in shape with a healthy dose of humor and reality. Thanks for joining me.

If money’s no issue? I’d add a couple of toys to my Pilates studio (core-align, new chair, gyro maybe) and I might just shift the whole thing to somewhere in the mountains so I can get my cardio on in the great outdoors instead of around the suburban streets :)

Then I’d spend big on getting myself to all the great symposiums and conferences to keep learning from the best – does that count?

And yeah, massage room would be nice, as long as it comes with a cute massage lady!